What's My Line? - Genevieve; Art Linkletter [panel]; Betty White [panel] (Mar 5, 1961)

MYSTERY GUEST: Genevieve
PANEL: Dorothy Kilgallen, Art Linkletter, Betty White, Bennett Cerf
Fans of Betty White (and who isn't?) might want to check out this playlist of all the eps of WML and TTTT she appeared on. All her WML shows are already posted, but there are new TTTT shows being added all the time! • Betty White on What's ...
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[@angelageren48]

Betty just turned 99! What an awesome lady. 😍

[@VickyRBenson]

Betty White passed away on December 31, 2021, at 99. She would have been 100 on January 17, 2022.

[@richarddarlington1139]

I think it is worth pointing out that big rigs of that era required a certain amount of physical strength to operate as they had no power steering or automatic transmissions.

[@glennhoddle10]

Betty White was absolutely gorgeous here at 39.

[@asmrdadbod2483]

Agree. Betty looks extraordinary, plus great personality and smarts

[@thunderball6908]

She looks 10 years younger.

[@patricklenahan8396]

For the roller skate question I thought at first that it was odd that John Daly hesitated to say that people "wear" them but then remembered that in 1961 they were more likely to have metal skates that attached to your own shoes rather than the shoe-type skates that we have today. Still even though they play music at a skating rink I thought it odd that he didn't downplay that angle since lots of kids/people would skate in the street or park, etc.

[@mehboobkm2018]

And answer about the question regarding music lead the panelists astray!

[@soulierinvestments]

Betty White about two years before she married Allen Ludden. She may have already met him at this point. Betty is the only person who did television in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s. Suffice it to say there are few of that vintage still around. She appeared as recently as April 2014, when she appeared on one of the last of the Jay Leno Tonight Shows. Betty is one of a half dozen people who appeared in game shows in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s. Another is June Lockhart.

[@robertcollins7025]

Actually she appeared first on Television in 1939 in experimental broadcasting as well.

[@robertcollins7025]

oh and the 2010"s too! wow parts of 9 decades. Still going strong at 91

[@soulierinvestments]

Living history of television.

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

Another one who has a similar television history, although not as early as 1939 but quite early nonetheless, is Dick Van Dyke, who as of this writing is still very much with us!

[@1928gerry]

There's a show still running on TV in 2019 which reveals what I had been told but couldn't believe and that is she has a mind like a sewer. It's a current show and she isn't a lady.

[@Enthrox]

Dorothy really picks up on certain hints that the rest of the panelists fail to do, and that in itself is commendable. Also, she looks really beautiful in this episode.

[@davidarcudi230]

She always did. Brilliant lady great journalist. Murdered for knowing the truth about JFK

[@preppysocks209]

@@davidarcudi230 the prosecutors considered evidence that was recently brought to them, opened and closed an investigation. Had they prosecuted and obtained a conviction, I would agree that she was murdered. But for the people who state without evidence that she was murdered, no facts, no expertise, no nothing will change their minds.

[@davidsanderson5918]

preppy socks Your last sentence suggests you presume an awful lot about the person commenting ie. "no expertise" and an inability to open their mind. To be fair, the person who made the comment was entitled to express an opinion succinctly based on what they've surmised with as little evidence as they would like to add. That said, I also imagine the person making the comment has no doubt watched the very same persuasive recorded lecture on the subject here on KZbin. Worth a watch if you haven't already.

[@oldwestguy]

This episode, as much as any other, demonstrates why Dorothy was the finest WML players of them all. No doubt her skills as a journalist served her well as a game player.

[@glennhoddle10]

She was my favourite player. The absolute best !

[@michellelekas211]

Episode for episode, Francis and Cerf are tied as the best.

[@briansanford1721]

My first view of this episode and Dorothy says Elsa Maxwell?!? Elsa sounding like Genevieve?!? I was shocked! Tee-hee.

[@accomplice55]

@@michellelekas211 Cerf made way too many comments about women's looks an bodies. And he leered at them while he did it.

[@michellelekas211]

@@accomplice55 I know: it is bizarre! I just finished "In Search of the Lonely Doll," and the come-on comments that Cerf kept hitting Dare Wright with would have him double-canceled today. He was a good guesser on WTL though.

[@soulierinvestments]

Great night for Dorothy. Dorothy to female truck driver: "Do you ever whistle at fellas?" Laughs Person in audience: Honk Dorothy without missing a beat "God bless you." to huge laughs. Dorothy "are you Elsa Maxwell?" house falls apart Since Dorothy's purpose was to play it straight to win, any time she got big laughs it was a bonus.

[@savethetpc6406]

It's good to see Dorothy finally beginning to get back to her old self. I don't think she's quite there yet in this episode, but compared to her previous several weeks on the show (both before and after her hospital stay), she seems to be doing much better here.

[@TyrSkyFatherOfTheGods]

soulierinvestments LOL - The "Dorothy Kilgallen watch" continues!

[@JustJoeT]

DK appears the sexiest I recall her.

[@miketheyunggod2534]

Woman truck driver. Good for her. 👍🙌

[@franciscoj.estrada5546]

I'm hearing this old tvprograms, since some time, to improve my listening in English. But little by little I have been entering into the interest about the program itself, its humor, its complicity between the panel and the modulator, and so on, and and I'm endind by liking it very much. Thanks to all the loaders endeed.

[@WhatsMyLine]

We all thank you. ;)

[@jeankorienek4210]

thechive.com/2015/11/03/dying-star-wars-fan-asks-to-see-the-force-awakens-before-he-passes-11-photos-video

[@davidsanderson5918]

Jean Korienek EH??

[@ladyyuna2000]

Dorothy Kilgallen is my favorite panelist on What's My Line?

[@gailsirois7175]

Mine too

[@stephenvincent4989]

Not mine

[@ladyyuna2000]

@@stephenvincent4989 we all have different opinions.

[@accomplice55]

Is that a question?

[@puffnstuff12]

I recently stumbled across this game show and am really loving it as it was before my time. Betty White is looking stellar back in her day.

[@lewiscarey1593]

RIP Betty,! You truly are a "Golden Girl," NOW!!! 😇😇😇

[@loissimmons6558]

Genevieve was married to Tony Mills and stepmother to his three children. One of those children is the actress Alley Mills. That makes Genevieve the stepmother of frequent Goodson-Todman panelist Orson Bean, although she is only 8 years his senior. As a regular panelist on "To Tell the Truth", Orson was often a tormentor of fellow panelist Peggy Cass. Miss Cass, as a gravel-voiced member of Jack Paar's troupe of comedy players on The Tonight Show, was an incorrect guess during the MG segment. Genevieve never bore any children of her own.

[@oksills]

Lois Simmons Very interesting back story. Thanks!

[@accomplice55]

I loved Orson Bean.

[@ironduke2000]

The head bow of the teenage roller-skate tester as he takes the hands of the panelists! Now, that's a well-raised kid!

[@rmelin13231]

Yes, and it's so refreshing to see.

[@dannydoc1969]

Fred Astaire did many dance routines on roller skates, as did Gene Kelly.

[@preppysocks209]

as did Ginger with Fred -- at her suggestion -- "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" from "Shall We Dance"

[@lopa2828]

So did Donald

[@MidnightWarrior1976]

I knew Kilgallen would save the day. She is the smartest panelist in this show's history.

[@rivaridge7211]

I asked a good friend (who is very knowledgeable about show business personalities from back in the day) and he mentioned the connection Genevieve had with Jack Parr (Tonight Show) which made her something of a celebrity at the time. He also mentioned Genevieve's (singing/dancing) performance of "I Love Paris" (which he had seen her do on stage) and as it was related to me, "absolutely stopped the show!" I wish there was more of her out here on KZbin.

[@davidsanderson5918]

Wow. Dorothy looks at her absolute best here. WOW!!

[@preppysocks209]

In 1961 Betty White made one of her few dramatic appearances. At that time, there were two women in the United States Senate (one of whom, the then recently elected Sen. Neuberger had been a guest a few weeks earlier). There were two female senators as late as 1992. Betty White played a small role as a female senator in the 1962 released film "Advise and Consent."

[@jrm8899]

Betty White was so much like Arlene....fun and suggestive

[@gailsirois7175]

Still is !!!

[@broughtbackin]

@@gailsirois7175 :(

[@ladybear1103ify]

Betty White is so lovely and charming.

[@comedyshorts2]

Genevieve's real name is Ginette Marguerite Auger. She was born in Paris, France 4/17/1920 and died in Los Angeles 3/14/2004 of Stroke Complications

[@liketheroman]

Just a few weeks to go until Betty turns 100!

[@OMG_BeCkY]

Wah wahhhhh

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

She really fouled up that one, eh?

[@cynthialyman2636]

Aired fifteen days shy of my first birthday; no wonder I'm having trouble remembering it. But I sure am enjoying it now!

[@rivaridge7211]

To add to my comment from four years back, there is now (on KZbin) a wonderful clip of Genevieve appearing live on the Ed Sullivan Show from October 12, 1958. You'll find it under, "Genevieve, I Love Paris, The Ed Sullivan Show." A great performance (in my view). She was lovely and exciting - people (in general) may not know of her today, but she was quite well-known back in the day. Cheers to all!

[@bbailey7818]

Thanks. That was a mystery guest I had to look up on wiki.

[@stevensaunders1580]

I loved her singing "I Love Paris".

[@shirleyrombough8173]

My 110 pound friend Nan drove a large rig to put herself through law school. She had to work to win the acceptance of her fellow truck drivers. But her work ethic and perseverance won them over.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

I'm surprised that John was a little dubious that one could "wear" roller skates.

[@riccardowolf6932]

Check out Geneviève (on youtube) singing "Allez-vous-en" from the musical "Can-Can" by Cole Porter. She was a very talented singer and actress and toured the USA and Canada starring in various musicals.

[@christopherjr97]

RIP Betty White (1922-2021)

[@poetcomic1]

Art Linkletter's charm eludes me.

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

Yeah, I was going to write something about that. There's something fake about him. If you see one of his last interviews which he did with Larry King, in my opinion, I thought he came across as a very bitter old man, and something else but I'll leave it at that for the sake of good taste.

[@TheCometHunter]

Then you're obviously not a housewife from the 50's and 60's. They were the viewers (on TV and in-studio audiences) that Linkletter most appealed to. He's most widely remembered for his KIDS SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS segments, which Bill Cosby revived in the 80's, and which Steve Harvey is doing right now. In other words, Don't Worry About It...We Understand!

[@loissimmons6558]

Does this sound like someone who is bitter? kzbin.info/www/bejne/eHKXmp-BiMyaq8U

[@loissimmons6558]

Art Linkletter was at his best when interviewing people gently. He interviewed kids to show how they see life differently from adults. He interviewed adults to bring out the best in the people he interviewed. He was the antithesis of the Mike Wallace hard-hitting exposé form of interview journalism. He was an entertainer looking for humor and human interest rather than a journalist.

[@VickyRBenson]

@@loissimmons6558 Unfortunately, this link is now unavailable because the channel associated with it has been terminated. 😢

[@johnmonkus4600]

The best contestants are the ones that are guessed with 9 down.

[@andreaplummer3841]

I loved the truck driver segment! One of the things I love about this show is all the unusual occupations people have. A woman truck driver was certainly unusual at that time. Here they show that they can and still maintain femininity. Also shows that life wasn't as it was portrayed on the sitcoms. Women were truck drivers, detectives, factory workers, etc.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

I think Bennett gave the best bow. It may be considered a "Shit" bow in Japan (not a full deep 45 degree deeppy), but appropriate for the USA. A nice little modest curtsy.

[@snarflatful]

BW - Saucy as ever. And smart!

[@sinemsvintage7664]

Thank you so much. Ah, Betty! How sweet! :)

[@chutneysmith6469]

Mystery guest is the step-mother of the actress who played the mother on The Wonder Years.

[@accomplice55]

Yep. Alley Mills. She was also a regular on "Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman," as was her husband, Orson Bean.

[@davidarcudi230]

Betty Betty Betty Betty

[@mistergrandpasbakery9941]

Hooray for Mack trucks!

[@gbrumburgh]

Dorothy is right back in form after the previous week when it appeared she was under the influence whether it be alcohol and/or prescription drugs. I had never seen her in such bad shape. Her most tell-tale signs seem to occur at the beginning of the show when she introduces a panelist ... and then she seems ok for the rest of the show. Her personal life was so unhappy. Her husband. Dick Kollmar, was an alcoholic and adulterer. He committed suicide several years after Dorothy's death.

[@shirleyrombough8173]

She was not. How do these stupid rumors get started?

[@gailsirois7175]

I believe she was taking prescription drugs as having just been released from the hospital for a physical strain or sprain to her shoulder

[@gailsirois7175]

@@shirleyrombough8173 everyone is trying to portray her as an alcoholic/drug addict..completely untrue

[@ImaginaryEvil]

I think I know the episode you're referring to, and she was trying to stifle a sneeze while introducing the panelist, you can hear her say "trying not to sneeze" at the end of her intro, and then she's absolutely fine for the rest of the episode.

[@dorothykilgallenwasmurdere1653]

@@gailsirois7175 yes, unfortunately she was using both.

[@donaldleroy6502]

Betty White is a beauty no matter what hair color she rocks, however I'm an old fashioned guy that natural hair color is the best as is evident here

[@richardfoster9846]

As much as I love Arlene I think Doroth y was the backbone of the panel, the cleanup hitter.

[@leesher1845]

Nice to see Betty White so young. She was so gracious.

[@cedubose]

Never heard of Genevieve!

[@KC-kb6mg]

She was difficult to find on Google until I used Jack Paar's name w/hers she was born Ginette Marguerite Auger in Paris. Was a comedian & singer.

[@Rodin99]

I only know her from her appearances on Jack Parr's show. During this time, Merv and Paar had a stable of regulars and that is unheard of today.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

That sneeze at about 12:00 and Dorothy's "God Bless You" is an indication of how classy this time was!

[@LANCSKID]

… and pre-Covid.

[@poetcomic1]

Genevieve at her best doing classic French 'get-down' cabaret music. She grows on you if you can find her. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pKnEc4looM2KbKs

[@soulierinvestments]

The mystery guest was one of those cute young things that made it big on network TV for a while, then sort of faded. One obituary described her: "Genevieve, a French chanteuse whose mangled English was a running gag on Jack Paar’s “The Tonight Show,” . . . ." another obituary wrote "Genevieve, the gamin-like French singer and comedian whose fractured English enchanted American TV viewers on Jack Paar's "Tonight Show" in the late 1950s and early '60s . . . " According to newspapers at the time -- she got her stage moniker thus: She was born Ginette Marguerite Auger, but became Genevieve when the priest at her baptism told her parents that Ginette was the diminutive for Genevieve and that the church required that an infant's given name include that of a saint. Oh. This must come as a surprise to Genevieve MacDonald

[@ChrisHansonCanada]

TRUCK DRIVER TESTS ROLLER SKATES 🤪

[@morganrussell6783]

I wish I was back in thoses days alas 💯

[@williamludlow3788]

If you did go back, you wouldn't have your cell phone.

[@kentetalman9008]

I take it, you're not Black, female, LGBTQ, or in need of an organ transplant.

[@virghammer1]

Betty: "that lusty young man, Bennett Cerf!" - LMAO! 🤣🤣🤣 GOOD ONE, BETTY, as always! (Lol - Bennett was adorable - but hey; that WAS a good one; he obvi must'v' known she obvi was SMART there ... - LMAO!) -

[@bobhayett2376]

What an absolutely wonderful show, so full of class and wit. It's hard to imagine any TV show being produced these days that would even come close to matching it.

[@ruthwayneperry3097]

Betty white sure was beautiful

[@ruthwayneperry3097]

Has anyone not known the scoring system? With the scarcity of the volume of shows available at that time, unless people had NO TV THEY all would have known how they scored the show.

[@WhatsMyLine]

Fans of Betty White (and who isn't?) might want to check out this playlist of all the eps of WML and TTTT she appeared on. All her WML shows are already posted, but there are new TTTT shows being added all the time! kzbin.info/aero/PLqsaqh5sqUxprN4spg9FDonrj8RVa8udE ----------------- Join our Facebook group for WML-- great discussions, photos, etc, and great people! facebook.com/groups/728471287199862/ Please click here to subscribe to the WML channel if you haven't already-- you'll find the complete CBS series already posted, and you'll be able to follow along the discussions on the weekday "rerun" videos: kzbin.info/door/hPE75Fvvl1HmdAsO7Nzb8w

[@robertmelson2130]

Somebody had to have said something to Dorothy. The difference between her appearance last week and this week's is like that of night and day. Keep it up, Dorothy!

[@Rhonda9199]

I agree!

[@dorothykilgallenwasmurdere1653]

She often showed up hungover

[@snarflatful]

She had several minor strokes before dying 5 years later. #dropsy

[@williamlinington9166]

I would love to have had lunch with Bennett Cerf.

[@LANCSKID]

He would leave you to pick up the tab …

[@contrarian8870]

Saying rollerskates do something "in connection with music" was a bad choice. Some surgeons do surgery while listening to music, but saying a surgeon "does something in connection" with music would be equally misleading. Also you wear rollerskates, what other verb is there?

[@mslgizzle]

Betty white is STILL LIVING in 2020 at the ripe ol age of ‘Old as Fu@k’

[@gailsirois7175]

And in 2021 !

[@Eddie_Schantz]

This mystery guest is someone I have never heard of until I watched this video. Who is she and what did she do?

[@accomplice55]

Answers are in this thread.

[@brianjones8899]

Who is your daddy and what does he do?

[@LANCSKID]

Those WML Panellists’ names defined in full. Part One: Cerf - (i) An overbearing a rather pompous person who makes creepy remarks to females. (ii) A Pisstaker (iii) A Smartarse.

[@jackseward7779]

Who is the KZbin idiot who designed the comment sections so that they are not in chronological order but scrambled. That way, you can't respond to a reply to your own recent comment (such as today). Hitting REPLY to the email simply gets you to the original post.)

[@carrob704]

Re: guy testing roller skates. The host interrupts and interprets so much that I conclude that they do not even need the guest saying anything! The guest should just sit there looking pretty while Mr Daly answers the question for them! The guest barely answers and looks to the host for approval:(

[@mathewfullerton8577]

Also, Daly jumps in and makes a big production when the guest, CORRECTLY, answers "yes" to whether the product can be worn.

[@tugginalong]

Genevieve is apparently still alive as of Jan 2024 making her 96.

[@thunderball6908]

I usually know the mystery guest, but I have zero idea who Genevieve is, lol.

[@randylovering24]

Seventy thousand congratulations

[@Retroscoop]

Silent John Daly :)

[@MidnightWarrior1976]

How can you go "clockwise' when the panel is in a straight line?

[@leesher1845]

Of course you wear roller-skates!

[@peternagy-im4be]

Not really

[@jackseward7779]

Why did Mr. Daly have such difficulty with the word :wear"? You wear roller skates just like you'd wear shoes.

[@accomplice55]

Not in 1961. They were generally attached to shoes, so not exactly worn.

[@cathykinn4516]

Daly never asks the Men if they're Married - why does he always ask the Women if they're Miss or Mrs.

[@wendyjames3977]

@cathykinn4516 So that the panel know whether to call the ladies Miss. or Mrs. by name. The men are of course called Mr. by name whether they are married or not 🤗

[@davidduxbury7530]

It's wonderful to see a younger Bette White as i've only ever seen her in The Golden Girl's!!I am from across the pond so i've only just recently discovered this fantastic show!!

[@neilmidkiff]

Bennett's "Lexicon Avenue" quip is my favorite so far, I think.

[@loissimmons6558]

It was the second time he used it, perhaps more often than that because it might have been used during a lost episode.

[@dianhildabrandkenton9741]

I don’t get it

[@neilmidkiff]

@@dianhildabrandkenton9741 "Lexicon" is just another word for "dictionary" -- derived from ancient Greek, so more familiar to those who had a classical education. Bennett is making a pun with "Lexington Avenue" -- another street in Manhattan, New York City. The idea is that John Daly's vocabulary comprises most of the words in the dictionary.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

See 12:00 for a funny!

[@TwainBernice-i2g]

Schultz Prairie

[@BennettFitzGerald-l7w]

Lavern Key

[@DanielleWalls-u2s]

Lesley Squares

[@michaeldonovan4793]

never heard of her

[@notvalidcharacters]

Genevieve who? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@jools01]

Ginette Marguerite Auger she was on the jack parr show a lot

[@virghammer1]

SO GLAD TO SEE / HEAR GENEVIEVE! YAY ! 🤩💙💜💚❤💙🐦🐸🌲🎶🎵🎼

[@MargoAldaba-v6v]

Gulgowski Cliffs

[@blueduck5589]

!960's sensibilities. A woman truck driver??!

[@NancyGarcia-d2z]

King Squares

[@FrancisFitch-s3y]

Olson Stravenue

[@WilliamShelby-b2i]

Lon Trail

[@DominiqueEbadi-s3e]

Baumbach Rapids

[@KerryKim-f9s]

Oberbrunner Locks

[@DollyCleveland-l1f]

Stokes Plaza

[@RogelioCulp-w5i]

Vidal Landing

[@FaradayBetsy-n9p]

Winona Drive

[@BrandyBryant-t6d]

Bulah Orchard

[@fshepinc]

Genevieve in 1960

[@OkCordero-h3x]

Lucio Island

[@AntoinetteSweet-g7p]

Lelia Court

[@JosephineParks-x3r]

Lind Shore

[@DeenaHennig-r5q]

Zora Drives

[@BettyDeborah-n8z]

Devin Bridge

[@VirginiaForsythe-h2w]

Lorna Station

[@LasandraRudish-i2g]

Kuhic Isle

[@MichealParham-h5q]

Gleichner Locks